Orthotopic and heterotopic autotransplantation of the rat kidney.

End-to-end anastomosis of the kidney vessels and ureter can easily be done without suture. Artery and ureter are connected via an intraluminal silicone tube, anastomosis of the vein is performed with a cuff-technique. In case of orthotopic transplantation the left kidney is transplanted to the right side after right nephrectomy. Furthermore heterotopic transplantation was tried: kidney vessels were either connected with jugular or femoral vessels. In contrast to orthotopic transplantation higher thrombosis rate was observed, probably due to varying sizes of donor and recipient vessels. Our method of orthotopic autotransplantation is easier, less time consuming and has a lower complication rate than homologous kidney transplantation with suture techniques.